Coming Home
by tea-is-liquid-wisdom
Summary: Reid has been faced with many challenges and troubles in his lifetime, but will he survive being diagnosed with a brain tumor? Sick!Reid.
1. Chapter 1

**UPDATE: This is a replacement of the first chapter. After completing a couple more chapters, I found myself unable to write any more on the subject of lung cancer for personal reasons. I changed some things in the first scene, and that required me to redo the second part of this chapter. I hope that nobody is disappointed about the slight change of plot, but it's something I had to do. Sorry for the confusion and change, and thanks. (I actually think this will be a far better story, now).**

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**Hey, everyone. I feel like I haven't been on here in forever, and I certainly have some reviewing to get caught up on. Yes, I know I have not updated in a long time, and did plan on updating "Birthright" tonight, but because of recent things, I got this idea and had to write it. It'll probably be getting updated more often than my other stories. I hope you enjoy this story about sick!Reid.**

**Disclaimer- I do not (and probably never will) own anything to do with _Criminal Minds_.**

**Enjoy!**

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After running, the UnSub, Mike Barton, finally stopped, realizing he was caught and not getting away, but he still pointed his gun to the young agent in front of him.

Reid had his gun pointed at the UnSub. The run had exhausted him, and he felt a bit dizzy, as he had for the past couple of weeks. He even had a bit of difficultly holding his gun straight at the man. Hotch and Morgan were right behind him.

"FBI," Reid tried to sound commanding. _You need to exercise more, he told himself, that's all_. "Drop your weapon."

Morgan and Hotch had now completely caught up and were now training their guns on the UnSub, as well. Mike looked like a deer in headlights, eyes flickering between the three agents, but mostly between the two older men, probably presuming they were the two biggest threats.

"Mike Barton, drop the gun, now!" Morgan demanded. "This doesn't have to be any harder than it already has to be."

The delusional criminal licked his lips, "w-will I get to see Mary again?"

Mary had been Mike's girlfriend, until he'd killed her in one of his episodes. The man had gone on a killing spree, claiming that each of his victims had Mary.

Reid's eyes darted to his teammates. "Yes," he said, trying to focus. If you put down your gun now, and surrender yourself, we can go see Mary." The young man could feel the dark and surprised glances of his teammates watching him, but he couldn't lie, and he was positive that if Mike was told he'd killed his girlfriend, he'd turn his gun on himself. Reid knew he couldn't lose another person's life when there was a chance he could stop it.

At the same time, the genius seriously wished that the UnSub would do something already. He didn't know how much longer he could last with the sun in his eyes, making his head ache even worse. He'd been suffering from horrible headaches that had gradually gotten worse for weeks. _You're fine, Spencer. Just do you job._

"You're… you're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Reid could see the sudden bit of light in the UnSub's eyes as he gave a small smile and put down his gun.

Instantly, Morgan and went to grab Mike, cuffing him, and Reid turned and walked a few feet away, putting his hands on his head, desperately trying to get rid of some of the pressure in his head. He rubbed at his eyes and leaned against a nearby tree for support as dizziness came over him, and nausea struck him.

"You all right?" He heard Hotch ask from where he was now standing behind him.

"Yeah," Reid looked at the unit chief, blinking a couple of times, and stood up straighter. "I'm fi‒," Reid bent over and leaned against the tree again as his headache flared up, worse than ever. He stood up shakily again, "what were just talking about?"

"Reid!" Hotch rushed over to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Reid, what's wrong?"

"What? Nothing's wrong," Reid said, confusion in his eyes, and suddenly winced, his hands going up to clutch at his temples. "My head…"

"Hotch? Reid?" Morgan asked as he jogged up to them after handing Mike off to the paramedics. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure‒" Hotch began to say, but was cut off as Reid fell to the ground and started convulsing and shaking.

His two collegues were immediately beside him, rolling him onto his side as he started vomiting. "Morgan, go! Call the paramedics, and tell them an agent is having a seizure. I'll take care of Reid."

Morgan got out his phone and ran off, and Hotch's eyes widened as he took in the scene before him.

* * *

"Family of Spencer Reid?" The middle-aged man, who'd previously introduced himself as Dr. Collins, entered the waiting area, and the team all stood up, waiting for answers.

"How is he?" Hotch asked the doctor.

"He's stable," the team members all breathed a sigh of relief and let the man continue. "Patients with seizures are often brought in, and we usually just have to figure out why they are undergoing a seizure in the first place. Has Spencer mentioned anything else? Other symptoms?"

Hotch thought for a moment, but Rossi spoke up first. "I think we've all noticed him acting a bit differently, these past few weeks. More easily annoyed, tired, distant, even. Like he's having trouble concentrating."

The doctor nodded, and Hotch added to what Rossi said when Dr. Collins finished writing the new information down. "Right before he had the seizure, it was obvious that he had a serious headache, and he had to lean against a tree for balance," the unit chief told him. "One moment he told me he was fine, the next he had no idea what was happening."

"Is that all?" Dr. Collins asked as he finished recording what Hotch had told him.

Hotch looked around at the worried faces of the team. "Yes, I think so."

"Do you have any idea of what the cause might be?" Garcia asked, and the doctor eyed her and the bright attire she was wearing.

"A couple. Agent Hotchner, you are his medical proxy. Will you come and talk to me alone for a moment?"

Hotch nodded and followed the doctor around the corner. Usually he would've said that everybody could hear, but he honestly didn't want to share Reid's private health information until he was given permission from the genius himself.

Dr. Collins turned to him and looked him in the eye, "Agent Hotchner, Spencer is displaying many signs of a brain tumor. We're going to have to run some tests."

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**"Reid" and review, please.**

**Is anybody else really nervous for the finale?**


	2. Chapter 2

**PLEASE READ: Okay, if you had read the first chapter _before the update note was on it was at the top of it_, please go back and read the previous chapter again. After writing a couple more chapters, I found I couldn't write on the subject of lung cancer anymore, for personal reasons, and I changed the plot so that Reid now has a brain tumour. I'm sorry if this decision disappoints anybody, but by not reading the changed first chapter, you will probably be confused as to what is going on for the rest of the story.**

**Okay, so hi, everyone. Thank you for the brilliant response to this story, and I can't thank you enough for all the favourites, follows, and reviews.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything to do with _Criminal Minds__._**

**Enjoy!**

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Hotch could feel himself immediately blanch. _Brain tumour_? No, no way.

"You're sure?" He heard himself ask.

Dr. Collins ran a hand through his thinning, gray hair. "Well, no. That's why we need to run the tests. But, he is showing multiple symptoms of Glioblastoma."

Glioblastoma? Hotch didn't recall the meaning of that word, but it didn't sound good. "What's that?"

The doctor sighed; he knew it was difficult for people to hear this kind of thing. "Glioblastoma is the most common type of malignant brain tumour, but it is also the most aggressive." _Oh, God,_ Hotch thought. "It arises in the glial cells."

Hotch sighed. "And the tests?"

"We've already done an MRI on him, and the results will be back by the end of the day. If they show a tumour, a biopsy will be performed to determine the type of tumour."

The unit chief let this new information process in his mind for a second. "And if they do come back positive?"

"Well, we will be able to tell from the results if the tumour is able to be removed surgically. However, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are also used along with surgery to improve the outcome."

Hotch took a deep breath. This couldn't be happening, not to Reid, not now. Hadn't the boy been through enough in his life already? But, Hotch knew he had to stay calm; it wasn't as if they were for sure about this. The results hadn't come back yet. Should he tell the team what Reid was being tested for, or should he wait for the results? But what if they did come back positive? Would he tell the team, or would Reid want to? "May we go see him?"

Dr. Collins gave him a sympathetic look that Hotch didn't appreciate. _It's like he's already sure that Reid has one._ The doctor nodded, and the pair approached the rest of the team again.

"You can all go see Spencer now, if you'd like," Dr. Collins told them, and they all stood. "Follow me."

The group followed the doctor into Reid's room. They saw Reid lying on the hospital bed, and the genius looked at them when he heard the door to his room open.

"Hey, Spence," JJ greeted with a smile.

"Oh, sweetie!" Garcia rushed around Prentiss, putting her arms around Reid. Reid gave a small smile and tentatively hugged her back. "You had us all worried," she said as she released him.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, Pretty Boy," Morgan said. "We're just glad you're alright."

Hotch stiffened a bit. Was Reid really all right? From the look in Reid's eyes, Hotch could tell that Reid was thinking the same thing as he was. Maybe he should tell the team. . .

"How're you feeling, kiddo?" Rossi asked as the team stood around their youngest colleague.

Hotch could tell that Reid didn't like everyone surrounding him, standing over him, and that it made the genius a bit uncomfortable, so he stepped back a bit, partly to sort out some of his own thoughts.

"I'm fine," Reid said, but with the disbelievingly looks from his teammates, he hastily added: "my head hurts, and I don't feel so good, I guess." Reid's eyes met Hotch's, and from the look in his eyes, the unit chief guessed that his subordinate was aware that Hotch knew what was going on. "Can I have some time alone? I'm really tired."

The team looked a bit disappointed, but were understanding, and they started heading out.

"Hotch?" Reid called.

Hotch turned back. "Yes?"

Reid licked his lips. "Can you stay for a minute?"

The unit chief nodded and sat down in one of the chairs beside Reid's hospital bed as the door once again closed. "I know that the doctor told you."

Hotch nodded, "a seizure doesn't seem to affect your profiling skills."

"It's just my nature," Reid told him. "I had an MRI done earlier."

"I know, Dr. Collins told me. How're you really feeling, Reid?" He asked.

Reid ran a shaky hand through his hair and did a little laugh, "a bit scared. Even more so confused, though. I don't know why this is happening."

"Neither do I, Reid. Your results haven't come back yet, though," Hotch tried to be hopeful. "You could be fine."

"Yeah," Reid replied, doubt leaking into his voice. "Are you going to tell the others?"

"That's up to you. Do you want them to know you're getting tested?" Hotch didn't feel the need to remind the younger man what he was getting tested for.

"They deserve to know," Reid said after a few moments of hard concentration.

Hotch nodded. "Would you like me to tell them?"

"Would you mind. . ?" Reid said quietly.

"Of course not."

Reid shifted on his bed a bit, and Hotch could tell that the conversation was over, that Reid needed some time to himself. "Get some rest," Hotch told him and stood. "I'll let them know." And he left.

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Reid was finally alone. He liked the space, but it gave him a bit _too much_ time to think about what was happening. Maybe he the distractions right now.

Was he overreacting? The MRI results hadn't come back yet, but it felt like he'd already been diagnosed.

Sighing, he thought back to when the doctor had first told him what was going on.

. . .

_"How are you feeling, Spencer?" Dr. Collins asked as he entered his room for the second time. He'd already been in there once to ask questions about what other symptoms Reid had been experiencing. Reid wasn't sure what had happened to him, and Dr. Collins had told him that he'd had a seizure, and that he'd been brought to the hospital. They'd be keeping him there until they knew what had caused the sudden seizure._

_Reid knew that he needed to be honest with the doctors, as much as he didn't like it. "Not well. My still head hurts, I feel nauseous, and I still don't really remember what happened, no matter how hard I try."_

_Dr. Collins sat in the chair next to him. "Don't try too hard. I was told that you had the seizure while experiencing a bad headache, nausea and dizziness, and confusion."_

_"Do you know what caused the seizure yet?"_

_"We've got an idea," he told his patient. "Spencer, I know this may be hard to hear, but seizures, along with your other symptoms point to glioblastoma. Glioblasto‒" Dr. Collins was cut off by the younger man._

_"What?" Reid's voice cracked a bit. "A brain tumour? No. . . no, that can't be it; you'll have to keep looking."_

_"Spencer, please, relax," the doctor tried to calm him. "We're just going to have to run some tests. Glioblastoma is a type of tumour that‒" again the elder man was cut off._

_"I know what glioblastoma is! I know what it does, I know the tests," Reid started speaking very quickly. "And I know the survival rates."_

_The doctor listened to the upset man in front of him, and watched a couple tears spring to his patient's eyes. "Spencer, for now it's just tests. You'll get an MRI in a few minutes, and if it shows a tumour, a biopsy will be performed."_

_"You're wrong, you know," Reid told Dr. Collins, and even though he figured his statement was false, he needed to reassure himself._

. . .

_No, this isn't happening, _Reid told himself for what felt like the thousandth time since he'd been told what could be happening. _Not to me, not now. . ._

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**"Reid" and review, please.**

**Also, sorry again for the plot change. . .**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! Sorry for the slightly long wait for the update. Once again, I have to say that I am shocked over the response to this story. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review, or add this story to their favourites and/or alerts. It really does mean a lot, no matter how cliché that may sound.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own anything to do with _Criminal Minds_, and I probably never will._  
_**

**Enjoy!**

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Hotch slowly walked out of Reid's hospital room, a sigh escaping his lips. As much as he didn't want to tell the team, he knew that he couldn't deny Reid this. The boy already had far too much on his plate.

Before he'd joined the FBI, Hotch had thought that the hardest part of the job would be keeping a good outlook on life when he'd constantly be seeing the evil side of people, especially when he'd moved up to the unit chief position. But no, the hardest part was _this_. Breaking bad news to his teammates‒ his family‒ about one of their one, trying to reassure them all. He'd experienced it more than once, and Hotch sincerely hoped that this was the last time he'd have to, knowing that it wouldn't be. The weight of being unit chief was heavier on his shoulders than ever, and he didn't know how to relieve it.

Hotch saw the rest of the team sitting in the small hospital waiting room that they had originally been lead to. His eyes briefly met Rossi's as he walked over to join the group.

The unit chief sat down in one of the uncomfortable white hospital chairs and leaned forward.

"What was that?" Morgan asked after a moment. "What did the doctor say?"

Hotch sighed. "He told me that they had an idea of what caused the seizure. Glioblastoma," he told them in the voice he usually reserved for the office.

He received concerned looks in return. "What the Hell is that?" Morgan demanded.

Hotch took another deep breath. _Here it goes. . . _"A brain tumour."

"What?" JJ asked, a hand over her mouth.

"But. . . they just said it was an idea, right?" Garcia asked, concern written all over her face. "They don't know do they?"

Rossi and Prentiss stayed silent, obviously deep in thought.

"No, they don't. Reid got an MRI earlier‒" Hotch was cut off by Morgan, who had a look of betrayal plastered onto his face.

"An MRI? And he didn't tell us?" Morgan put his head in his hands. "Is this really happening, Hotch?"

There it was again. The obligation to reassure this group of people, to protect them from bad news and tragedy. Could they not see that he didn't have all the answers? But this was his duty, and Hotch knew that he had to do this.

"Honestly, I don't know. The results will be back by the end of the day," Hotch said.

Morgan stood up suddenly, and walked away, heading down the hallway

"I'll go after him," Prentiss reassured them, and followed the upset man.

"I think we should all get some air," Hotch told the others.

JJ and Garcia headed to the women's washroom, probably to wipe away the tears in their eyes.

Rossi remained. He looked Hotch in the eye. "Are you all right, Aaron? This must be hard for you."

"I'm as fine as I can be," the younger man replied honestly. "We don't know anything for sure, Dave."

Rossi nodded, "want to get some coffee?"

Hotch nodded, and the pair sighed and stood up.

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Reid jumped a little when the door opened, and Dr. Collins stepped in. A few hours had passed since he'd last seen the man. The team had been in a many more times to check on him, but he'd sent them away each time after only a few minutes. Reid knew that it wasn't fair to them, that they were only trying to help him, but he really couldn't deal with all the attention at the moment.

"Hello, Spencer," the man greeted him. "How are you feeling?" And, after a shrug in response from Reid, he commented, "I see you didn't eat the food that was brought to you," and gestured to the untouched plate of food that one of the many nurses had brought in a couple of hours earlier.

"Not hungry," Reid told him, and nervousness overcame him. "Did you get the test results back?"

Dr. Collins sat down in the chair next to the bed. Reid inwardly sighed. He could tell from the man's behaviour that he didn't want to overwhelm his patient any more by standing over him, and that pointed to bad news. "Yes, we did. Spencer. . . I'm very sorry to tell you this. . ." _Oh, God, no,_ Reid thought. _No! This isn't happening. _Thoughts kept crowding in Reid's head._ Get it together, Spencer. It's not like you can control this . . . but maybe if you had just been normal . . . no, stop. _"But your tests showed an obvious brain tumour. Now . . ."

Reid zoned out for a moment, his own thoughts and worries attacking him. _40% of all people diagnosed with a brain tumour live for at least a year. 19% live for at least 5 years. 14% live for at least 10 years . . ._ The genius snapped out of his faze.

". . . You said you already knew a lot about brain tumours. The follow-up is a biopsy," Dr. Collins told him. "We have to figure out what type of tumour it is. Are you all right, Spencer?"

_Of course not! _Was what Reid desperately wanted to shout. Did doctors have no sympathy? Instead, Reid decided to say meekly, "go on."

The doctor nodded. "We'll perform the biopsy tomorrow morning. You will be unconscious for the procedure. Is that okay?"

Again, Reid wanted to say no, that he wasn't comfortable with people working on his precious brain‒ his only weapon‒ while he was unconscious. "Yes. I know how the procedure goes, doctor," Reid told the man stiffly. "Are we done?"

Dr. Collins nodded. "There's a pretty good chance that it's a low-grade tumour, and no matter how stupid this may sound, try not to worry about it too much, Spencer."

"It's Dr. Reid," Reid told him, and the older man nodded.

Dr. Collins left the room and Reid to his thoughts.

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**"Reid" and review, please!**

**(I found this chapter kind of dull and somewhat boring. . .)**


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